LivewireRecorder/README.md

Livewire Recorder

Audio Recorder with hourly WAV files from a Livewire Multicast Stream Input with an integrated folderkeeper

Prerequisites

• Livewire network synchronized,
• mediamtx ("https://github.com/bluenviron/mediamtx") for signal distribution,
• ffmpeg, ntp (ntpsec, chrony)
• Enough disk space e.g. NAS

Architecture

• mediamtx for audiosignal
• Prepaired folder structure ../%Y/%m/%d/ e.g. ../2026/01/01/ for ffmpeg output files
• Livewire SDP -> mediamtx->rtsp->ffmpeg-->wav file
• Filename %Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S.wav e.g. 2026-01-12_12_00_00.wav
• Systemd control with check of the required mountpoint

Example files

• Mediamtx config example file with Livewire SDP source
• Systemd recorder service example file

So why do we need an RTSP server when already have FFmpeg to read or create an RTSP stream?

Because we need something that can “accept” and “distribute” the stream. FFmpeg can stream “to” a URL, but cannot “publish” or “distribute” the stream. RTSP servers like mediamtx are also highly optimized for fast streaming, highly scalable for handling multiple streams, and also implement cool features like synchronization and buffering.